I picked up the RV on Thursday after work, so I did the normal preparations and inspections (adding water, checking fluids, etc.) that evening and we were ready to go early the next morning and we had a great drive to the state park.
We took 101 up to Santa Rosa before cutting over to highway 1, as we wanted to stop by Korbel Champagne on the way. We heard they have a great tour, and we thought it would be fun to celebrate our 30th anniversary with a glass of bubbly. Korbel did not disappoint. The tour was informative and fun, and we learned about the family (starting with their imprisonment in Eastern Europe and their flight to the US), the gold rush, as well as wine and champagne making. It was a fun and inexpensive stop.
Next, we were on our way to Wright’s beach in the Sonoma Coast State Beach. It is a beautiful drive just a few miles south on highway one past Jenner. The camp ground itself is small and has no hookups, and the dump station is located five miles down the road. However, if you want secluded camping right on the beach, this is a great choice.
Many of the sights (3, and 4-10) have a great view of the ocean! We pulled front first into our space as far forward as we could, and our windshield provided a panoramic view of the sand and ocean for us. It was great to be able to sit inside and enjoy the view, as it was pretty chilly most of our time there. However, when the sun peeked out occasionally from the fog, it was also great to set the beach chairs in front of the RV and enjoy it that way too.
The ocean here can be treacherous, and there are numerous signs warning about rip tides and sneaker waves. As a result, most everyone just enjoys the large sandy beach beyond the reach of the tide. There were families playing frisbee and kick ball, and there was a lot of kite flying here as well.
Another nice benefit of camping here is that all the beaches below Jenner and above Bodega bay are dog friendly! We spent a lot of time going for walks with Charlie along the beach. Curiously, however, dogs are banned from all the trails in the area along the bluffs overlooking the ocean. Usually it is the other way around.
These trails along the bluff turned out to provide some great hikes. Usually on our trips there is some nice surprise we happen across unexpectedly. On this trip, it was the bluff trails. There are about five miles of trails connect the parks from wrights beach all the way to Goat Rock, where the Russian River meets the ocean. While you always get great views of the coastline along here, which has spectacular rock formations, this week, the spring flowers were in full bloom. The hills and bluff were packed will all varieties of wild flowers all along the length of the trail. In some areas, the flowers were so exuberant that they partially blocked the trail. It was really beautiful and interesting as each new turn in the trail would bring another beautiful view worthy of several snapshots. We worried a little about ticks as we pushed our way through the flowers blocking our path, but a thorough inspection after the hike confirmed that we didn’t pick up any unwanted passengers.
Since there were no hookups, breaking camp took about five minutes and we were on our way to the Bodega Dunes campground to empty our tanks before heading home. We had a really great and relaxing trip. While our RV batteries were low after three days of dry camping, our internal batteries were recharged and we were ready to get back home.
Here are a few photos from our trip.
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